Carmel Valley kid advocates for safe Halloween with Teal Pumpkin Project

FARE, the leading organization in food allergy education, is leading The Teal Pumpkin Project this Halloween, encouraging households to offer a non-treat food item as a fun and safe alternative option for trick-or-treaters with food allergies.

Many popular Halloween candies contain some of the most common allergens and additionally many miniature or fun-size versions of candies contain different ingredients than their full-size counterparts and may not have labels, so it is difficult for parents to determine whether these items are safe for their child with food allergies.

Charlotte Bailey, a fourth grader at Solana Pacific School, was contacted by Fox 5 News to teach the community about FARE’s Teal Pumpkin Project on Oct. 27. Charlotte has a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and she and her family have worked with FARE over the years to raise awareness about food allergies.

Supporting the Teal Pumpkin Project is a simple gesture that can have a big impact. As Charlotte advised: Get a pumpkin, real or fake, and paint it teal. This lets trick-or-treaters know that your home is offering a non-food treat. As Charlotte said, some great examples are stickers, pencils, glow sticks, note pads, erasers, fun straws, bubbles, temporary tattoos, and spider rings. For more information, visit tealpumpkin.org